Many appliances, such as, for example, built-in ovens, need to be tested for conformance to design criteria and/or government or industry standards. In the case of built-in ovens, testing is required to confirm that a furniture recess in which the oven will be installed will be subjected to only a certain temperature while the oven is in use.
This testing can be performed by building a cabinet around the oven being tested and including temperature sensors in the panels of the cabinet. The oven is then operated at a predetermined temperature or temperatures for a predetermined period of time. Repeatability of the testing procedure is important to ensure consistent data and conformance with government and/or industry standards.
Currently, the test cabinet is assembled around the oven, the test is run, and then the cabinet is disassembled. The cabinet is predominantly made of wood and held together by screws. The assembly and disassembly process is time consuming and great care needs to be taken to reassemble the cabinet in exactly the same manner each time. Also, over time, the panels of the cabinet deteriorate where the screws are located as a result of repeated assembly and disassembly.
The current process is further complicated by the fact that ovens come in several widths. Different top and rear panels are needed to build the cabinet to the correct dimensions for each of the widths.